Online Dating Burnout: The Phenomenon of Online Dating Burnout

Abstract

Matchmaking is no longer solely limited to the hands of specialized matchmakers. Due to the evolution of technology and increased individual freedom, there has been a revolution in how individuals interact and form connections, regardless of their intention for the relation. This is referred to as online dating, where consumers become their own matchmakers with the benefits of an online dating universe providing increased connectivity, convenience, and thousands and thousands of potential matches right by their hands. Dating websites and applications have turned into a billion-dollar business with millions of users joining the communities to exploit the benefits of these services. Even though there are millions of users frequently using these platforms, little is known about the consequences, especially psychological, of the usage of online dating services. Therefore, through the lens of Service-Dominant logic, perceiving consumers as value co-creators by being their own matchmakers, and with a foundation in the existing online dating literature, threads from social media research, and burnout literature, this explanatory research proposed that being the one’s matchmaker in an online universe leads to consumers experiencing a high load of “work” and internal value conflicts potentially resulting in feelings of burnout. Through an extensive review of the literature, the study proposed a conceptual model of the construct “online dating burnout”, its dimensions, and possible antecedents. With the conceptual model to lay the foundation of the study, this paper constructed hypotheses intending to explain if and why burnout does occur among online dating users. By adopting a deductive approach and by gathering primary quantitative data, the study aimed to explain the dimensions of online dating burnout as well as explain the relationship between online dating burnout and role overload as well as that between online dating burnout and internal value conflicts (intended value conflicts, oriented value conflict, and attitude value conflicts). These value conflicts were hypothesized as antecedents to burnout dimensions while role overload was hypothesized as an antecedent to burnout itself. Thus, to explain online dating burnout and possible antecedents, the study provided a statistical analysis where findings indicated that burnout does occur among online dating users and additionally the assumptions of antecedents were found to be significant and the assumed dimensions were found to indicate a strong correlation, thus measuring burnout. As the research of this phenomenon is within its early stages, this provides the opportunity for future research to further research and explain the construct of online dating burnout and other potential antecedents. Additionally, through this conceptualization of online dating burnout, managers may also benefit from the findings by understanding why burnout occurs and how to engage in initiatives to prevent and manage online dating burnout.